Well we had quite an exciting day last Friday as we had some very good news on several fronts.
It's so nice to have the 30% tax rebate ruling. Finally we can plan some travel. As a celebration we went to a big camping/outdoor store, which is Adam's favourite sort of shop. And we didn't buy anything, but picked up a few catalogues, which make for great loo reading for Adam.
Another exciting thing that happened on Friday involves Edward. I was cleaning up our perpetually messy kitchen, while Edward was playing near the back-door (which is always shut). Then I realised that Edward was suspiciously quiet. This only happens when he is immersed in doing something very interesting, (usually quite naughty or dangerous).
So I dashed over to the door. Edward was absolutely fascinated by something that he had found on the floor. Then he turned to me with a great big smile and reached out to hand me his "treasure". I was not wearing my glasses, so said "thank you Darling" and put my hand out.
He placed a (small) but very, very alive Spider in my hand.
I managed not to scream, shook the Spider off my hand and ran with Edward to the far end of the sittingroom. Then I dashed back (luckily I had not put the vacuum away) and vacuumed that Spider up. Edward of course crawled as fast as he could back to the back door to find his treasure.
Hmmm. His first pet?
Ah dear, that is a day I will never forget.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
In Loving Memory to Nugget
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| From Wakkerendijk ... |
I heard through the week that Nugget, a much loved horse of my dear friend Chris had died suddenly. Chris, this is a post for you. There are lots of beautiful horses in our village and I've been looking at them for the last few months and thinking how much you would enjoy seeing them (click on the words just under the photo to see lots of other horse photos).
Keukenhof
Yesterday was Saturday, the weather was fine.
The day before we visited JM and Leo in Den Haag. (Well, Adam had to work and Edward and I visited JM and Leo but Adam managed to come for lunch). Wonderful to see them and they are both looking well. Spike is a lovely dog and very nice around Edward. However, I've been worrying that I have left a book JM had got for Edward at their house - must Skype and check.
In the afternoon I went to the Mauritshuis and looked at various bits of priceless art until I had had enough. (Well, Edward had enough before I did. Edward's sole entertainment in the art gallery was trying to destroy the electronic guide machine.) Edward refused to eat any lunch at JM's house and then of course was starving by the time we arrived at the Mauritshuis. I did spend quite some time giving him bits of food in the foyer of Mauritshuis... an art gallery is not a relaxing place to take a baby.
On the drive home I was flipping through our guidebook to the NL. It has a list of "27 things not to miss" and we are trying to see all of the things on that list. We realised that one of the 27 things (the Keukenhof) would close until 2008 in 2 days time.
So on Saturday, we went to Keukenhof. It is billed as the largest spring garden in the world and is a huge old park full of flowers and paths, little streams, a lake and lots and lots of tourists. Here is Edward enjoying the flowers.
And here we are near a touristy fake windmill.
Edward and Daddy.
And here, we've finally found a pair of shoes to fit Edward! (He has seriously big feet.)
The day before we visited JM and Leo in Den Haag. (Well, Adam had to work and Edward and I visited JM and Leo but Adam managed to come for lunch). Wonderful to see them and they are both looking well. Spike is a lovely dog and very nice around Edward. However, I've been worrying that I have left a book JM had got for Edward at their house - must Skype and check.
In the afternoon I went to the Mauritshuis and looked at various bits of priceless art until I had had enough. (Well, Edward had enough before I did. Edward's sole entertainment in the art gallery was trying to destroy the electronic guide machine.) Edward refused to eat any lunch at JM's house and then of course was starving by the time we arrived at the Mauritshuis. I did spend quite some time giving him bits of food in the foyer of Mauritshuis... an art gallery is not a relaxing place to take a baby.
On the drive home I was flipping through our guidebook to the NL. It has a list of "27 things not to miss" and we are trying to see all of the things on that list. We realised that one of the 27 things (the Keukenhof) would close until 2008 in 2 days time.
So on Saturday, we went to Keukenhof. It is billed as the largest spring garden in the world and is a huge old park full of flowers and paths, little streams, a lake and lots and lots of tourists. Here is Edward enjoying the flowers.
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| From Keukenhof |
And here we are near a touristy fake windmill.
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| From Keukenhof |
Edward and Daddy.
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| From Keukenhof |
And here, we've finally found a pair of shoes to fit Edward! (He has seriously big feet.)
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| From Keukenhof |
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Catching Up
Well we've managed to "lose" a number of posts onto this blogspot. I'm not very impressed and don't know how it has happened. If it happens again I think we should change to a new place for the blog.
Since the last post, we have had a visit from Emma and Nathan on their honeymoon. Our first Australian visitors. It was very nice to see them and Edward especially enjoyed Nathan's demonstration of how our salad spinner works. We walked into Blaricum and saw a bit of the area. Then we when to Amsterdam and were actually refused food at a cafe. I think this happened because we had a baby in a pram.
Two weekends ago Edward and I went to Germany and had a lovely time with Dad and Gitty. Edward learnt to climb down the stairs and to wave at himself in the mirror halfway up. Dad's patience is endless, which is lovely. I came home very relaxed and with some lovely recipes to try out. They have all been great, especially the meatballs.
Last weekend we had a visit from Aaron and Amy (also on their honeymoon). We visited Enkhuisen, which has a lot of historical houses and shows an entire fishing village. A great place to visit. Aaron and Amy were a bit jet-lagged and had a horrid flight over with lots of delays, missing connections etc. Ah well. We put them on the plane to Barcelona yesterday morning. Edward was so excited by the visitors that he missed a lot of daytime sleeps. He caught up yesterday, which was very nice for me to have some quiet time.
Edward took 2 steps yesterday (and then pounced on Daddy, who was lying on the floor). His eating of normal food has improved immensely, helped by a new High Chair. We now are the proud owners of a Chicco Polly Retro high chair. It is lime green with spots and I love it. It is comfortable for Edward, has almost stopped the food throwing and he is finally putting on a bit of weight. Apart from yogurt (which is allowed to be placed in Edward's mouth with a spoon), Edward likes to feed himself with his hands (well fists really). I'm going to let him do this for a while to get him happy actually eating, and then try and teach him to use a spoon. Hmm, a first child really is a learning experience.
Adam is in London for the day and I am going to have another quiet day in the village with Edward. The day after tomorrow is a public holiday. Hooray. I think it is something to do with the end of Easter. We are planning on doing absolutely nothing and relaxing.
Oh, I almost forgot. We were granted the 30% Regeling. And what a stress it has been waiting for that! Now we will receive 30 of A's salary tax free and also can trade in his Australian driver's licence for a Dutch one. He needs to fix the driver's licence before 25th May. It is now 15th May. I went to the Gemeente Huis yesterday for the form and have filled it in. Will post it today. Must also post the Mac Battery.
I had a very "uneventful" Mother's Day as it fell at the end of an extremely busy week for Adam and also when we had visitors. Adam is going to give me my own individual repeat Mother's Day later this month as it was a bit underwhelming. If I don't get a card and nice present on the repeat MD I'm going to sulk.
Since the last post, we have had a visit from Emma and Nathan on their honeymoon. Our first Australian visitors. It was very nice to see them and Edward especially enjoyed Nathan's demonstration of how our salad spinner works. We walked into Blaricum and saw a bit of the area. Then we when to Amsterdam and were actually refused food at a cafe. I think this happened because we had a baby in a pram.
Two weekends ago Edward and I went to Germany and had a lovely time with Dad and Gitty. Edward learnt to climb down the stairs and to wave at himself in the mirror halfway up. Dad's patience is endless, which is lovely. I came home very relaxed and with some lovely recipes to try out. They have all been great, especially the meatballs.
 |
| From Enkhuizen |
Last weekend we had a visit from Aaron and Amy (also on their honeymoon). We visited Enkhuisen, which has a lot of historical houses and shows an entire fishing village. A great place to visit. Aaron and Amy were a bit jet-lagged and had a horrid flight over with lots of delays, missing connections etc. Ah well. We put them on the plane to Barcelona yesterday morning. Edward was so excited by the visitors that he missed a lot of daytime sleeps. He caught up yesterday, which was very nice for me to have some quiet time.
Edward took 2 steps yesterday (and then pounced on Daddy, who was lying on the floor). His eating of normal food has improved immensely, helped by a new High Chair. We now are the proud owners of a Chicco Polly Retro high chair. It is lime green with spots and I love it. It is comfortable for Edward, has almost stopped the food throwing and he is finally putting on a bit of weight. Apart from yogurt (which is allowed to be placed in Edward's mouth with a spoon), Edward likes to feed himself with his hands (well fists really). I'm going to let him do this for a while to get him happy actually eating, and then try and teach him to use a spoon. Hmm, a first child really is a learning experience.
Adam is in London for the day and I am going to have another quiet day in the village with Edward. The day after tomorrow is a public holiday. Hooray. I think it is something to do with the end of Easter. We are planning on doing absolutely nothing and relaxing.
Oh, I almost forgot. We were granted the 30% Regeling. And what a stress it has been waiting for that! Now we will receive 30 of A's salary tax free and also can trade in his Australian driver's licence for a Dutch one. He needs to fix the driver's licence before 25th May. It is now 15th May. I went to the Gemeente Huis yesterday for the form and have filled it in. Will post it today. Must also post the Mac Battery.
I had a very "uneventful" Mother's Day as it fell at the end of an extremely busy week for Adam and also when we had visitors. Adam is going to give me my own individual repeat Mother's Day later this month as it was a bit underwhelming. If I don't get a card and nice present on the repeat MD I'm going to sulk.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Koninginnen's Dag
Haven't posted for a while because we've been busy. Last Saturday afternoon we had an Australian BBQ with Deborah and Damian, on their houseboat in Amsterdam. They have a lovely baby girl - Aahilah, who is very sweet and cuddly. Edward was quite taken with Aahilah, especially when she was in her baby rocker. It was great to have a 'normal' Saturday, wonderful to see some other Australians. Deborah and Damian have been here for some years, and Damian is Dutch-Australian, so I think they are quite a bit more acclimatised than us. Deborah is a positive thinker - something I could work on as I'm a bit of a worrier.
I made a trifle for the BBQ. It was OK but not as good as that of my mother. I'm blaming the deficiency on Dutch cream, which leaves a lot to be desired.
The good thing about the trifle is that I've (re)discovered the Australian Women's Weekly recipe database. The name always makes me laugh as their magazine is monthly, but you can't really call something the Australian Women's Monthly!
Funny to see different parenting styles - we've fallen into what could euphemistically be called the Free Range approach. Deborah and Damian have a more regular style. It will be interesting to see how our children turn out.
So that was Saturday. Sunday and Monday we relaxed. Monday was Koninginnen's Dag (queen's birthday). The Dutch go for this in a big way. I hadn't noticed this before but Dutch houses have a metal thing on the outside near the front door. This is where they hang the Dutch flag on K's Day. Our house was notable for its absence of flag.
The local council designated the streets near the church (including our street) as the area for the K's Day celebrations. It was blocked to traffic and from early morning until lunchtime was set up like Trash & Treasure. I bought a mirror for the downstairs loo. We were completely ignored until we went home and dressed Edward in his only orange piece of clothing (some ski-pants). Then every second person greeted us.
In the afternoon the party really started. Lots and lots of alcohol and competing concerts along the Wakkerdijk. The jazz club (just behind our house) put on a very loud show. Inside our house (with all the double-glazed windows shut) it was as if someone had the radio on too loudly. Edward managed to sleep despite the noise.
The Dutch do K's Dag but they don't really celebrate Christmas. Interesting.
 |
| From Amsterdam Wor... |
I made a trifle for the BBQ. It was OK but not as good as that of my mother. I'm blaming the deficiency on Dutch cream, which leaves a lot to be desired.
The good thing about the trifle is that I've (re)discovered the Australian Women's Weekly recipe database. The name always makes me laugh as their magazine is monthly, but you can't really call something the Australian Women's Monthly!
 |
| From Amsterdam Wor... |
Funny to see different parenting styles - we've fallen into what could euphemistically be called the Free Range approach. Deborah and Damian have a more regular style. It will be interesting to see how our children turn out.
So that was Saturday. Sunday and Monday we relaxed. Monday was Koninginnen's Dag (queen's birthday). The Dutch go for this in a big way. I hadn't noticed this before but Dutch houses have a metal thing on the outside near the front door. This is where they hang the Dutch flag on K's Day. Our house was notable for its absence of flag.
 |
| From Koningen Dag |
The local council designated the streets near the church (including our street) as the area for the K's Day celebrations. It was blocked to traffic and from early morning until lunchtime was set up like Trash & Treasure. I bought a mirror for the downstairs loo. We were completely ignored until we went home and dressed Edward in his only orange piece of clothing (some ski-pants). Then every second person greeted us.
 |
| From Koningen Dag |
In the afternoon the party really started. Lots and lots of alcohol and competing concerts along the Wakkerdijk. The jazz club (just behind our house) put on a very loud show. Inside our house (with all the double-glazed windows shut) it was as if someone had the radio on too loudly. Edward managed to sleep despite the noise.
The Dutch do K's Dag but they don't really celebrate Christmas. Interesting.
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